


Under the Eves of Autumn

by Jaspen



Category: The Trinity Prophecy - Marissa Kinzel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaspen/pseuds/Jaspen
Summary: “Mother, Father,” Neros started, motioning towards Anthea as he did so. “This is Princess Anthea of the Realm of Arborea. Anthea, this my mother and father; King Vasilias, and Queen Heilsa.”“Welcome to our kingdom, young Princess.” The King bowed his head in greeting. He had the same kindness to his eyes, but she could tell from the way he talked that he wasn’t the type to put up with utter nonsense.“Make yourself at home.” the Queen followed up with a curtsey of her own. “Neros has told us a lot about you and the forest from which you have come. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay here more comfortable.”
Relationships: Neros & Anthea(The Trinity Prophecy)





	Under the Eves of Autumn

**Author's Note:**

> **Just a heads up** —this was created for the author while the book was still being written. There will be A Lot wrong, but I liked this enough to post it regardless.
> 
> The Trinity Prophecy by Marissa Kinzel is a wonderful book and can be purchased [here](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-trinity-prophecy_marissa-kinzel/26577879/#edition=32931770&idiq=38941972).

She had never been in the snow before.

Arboria was filled with the lush greenery and vibrancy one expected of a veritable paradise, and Anthea was proud to call it home. She knew the seasons inside and out, watched the blossoms bloom in the spring, the saplings grow all throughout the summer, the leaves change color in the fall. For all its wonder, her home never shed its vibrancy, instead restarting the cycle once more and carrying forward into the seasons. She'd heard of the stuff before, knew it was frozen water, had even seen the snow start to fall before it melted into the earth, but that's all it ever did. Not once had it built up a blanket, or disturbed the fallen leaves that scattered themselves along the well-worn pathways that led between the different homes she would frequent in her watch of the town.

Perhaps that was why she was so excited about this, she thought, counting over the items in her pack, woven with the thickest of leaves and secured with grapevine. She had seeds she could use to anchor herself in an emergency, and a couple with some sunlight stored inside in case she needed a midnight snack.

"They're just worried, you know?" Rosea said from her position on the windowsill, soaking up the sun's rays as she watched her friend pack. Anthea would have thought she sounded envious if it weren't for her placid nature—not once had her friend cared to venture out of Arboria's territory without Anthea's insistence. "You're not just anyone, you're the only Arborean who can really speak with lady Silva."

"I know, Rosea, but I'm also not a sapling anymore!" Anthea sighed, looking over the cattail jacket the willows had woven her for her journey, and sticking it in her pack. It was supposed to keep out the cold, but Anthea wasn't too worried. A little chill was no danger to her. "I'm almost thirteen! There's no shortage of saplings who are fully grown at ten, so I don't see why I specifically need to be treated with kid gloves."

"We haven't been in the cold in a long time, not like the mountains, not like Vetur." Anthea looked up and finally took in the cherry's expression, the way she tugged at her petals, the slight nibble at her bottom lip. The way her eyes wouldn't look anywhere but the early morning outside the window. "The forest whispers are really strong on the edge of the seasons."

"Whispers?" She took her steps closer, settling her bag on the floor before taking a seat on the ledge, her eyes closed as she tried to listen for whatever words slipped between the rustles and the wind. "Are you sure? I haven't heard anything."

"It's mostly the older ones," Rosea murmured, taking Anthea's hand in her own and squeezing tightly. "There's a bristlecone outside my home, says she's older than Arboria, says that summer trees like me won't be able to sleep right if the winter comes too soon."

"Ha!" Anthea laughed, shaking her head and running her thumb across the back of Rosea's hand. "I don't think she really knows what she's talking about; even if she _was_ older than Arboria—which we both know is impossible—what would she know about winter? The last snow we had was nine seedings ago, and all it did was make everything wetter than it needed to be," She jumped to her feet, making Rosea squeak as she was pulled up with her before Anthea started them spinning in the center of the room.

"Remember how we were so excited, we ran around everywhere and got covered in all that mud?"

Rosea's eyes locked with hers, and a smile lit up on her face. "How could I forget Derwen's face when he saw all the footprints we left?" She giggled. "He wouldn't let us do anything but collect fallen leaves for the rest of Autumn." They spun a few more times, before Anthea pulled them together fast, leaving them wobbly, and laughing at their own childishness.

"Just be careful?" Rosea asked, forehead pressed against Anthea's in a motion the princess used to calm her during terrible storms.

"I'll make sure to be really crazy when I climb the mountain; Lots of swinging, and not looking where I'm going."

Rosea rolled her eyes, but she wasn't frowning anymore, and that was Anthea's overall goal. "Well," the princess said, stepping away and tucking the loose leaves in her braid behind her ear. "I should probably get going before the clouds come in. Ol' Redwood said there was gonna be rain this afternoon, and I wanna make sure I'm away from the clouds before lunch."

Despite reassuring Rosea to the best of her ability, Anthea knew from the look on her face that her friend truly wouldn't stop worrying until she returned. Neither would the elders who had tried to talk her out of this little venture, but she was less worried about what a bunch of old bark had to say about the matter. She was a princess, and learning about the world around her—about the people outside of Arboria—was something she needed to pursue outright. Waiting for others to wander into her forest would do nothing for her or her people; and with that in mind, she gave a quick wave and turned towards the mountain. Her even, measured steps taking her up along the well-worn path used by the nomadic merchants that called the plains their home.

The trek up the mountain took her all of two hours before she could look behind her and see none of her fellow Arborians watching her ascent. "Ugh, finally!" She grumbled, looking around the sheer cliff face for something she could use. For most, the mountain took an entire day and a half to climb, if the winding path pressed between the precariously thin drop-offs and the solid edge of the mountain meant anything, but Anthea didn't have that kind of time.

Spotting an oak sort of jutting out of the side, she threw her magic towards it, waited for it to catch, and pulled. The vine came hurtling out at her, and she grabbed it before it could go slack, swinging off the edge of the cliff and climbing up to the tree's thinned canopy, before looking for another foothold. She spotted another one further up, this one with a bit of a ledge and some roots meeting the open air. Anthea pressed her hand into the earth and rock, willing the roots to grow; inching closer and closer until she could reach them and pulled herself up.

This happened again and again. Each set of vines created, each root system extended was another foothold in the sprawling ladder that would soon take up residence on the mountain's eastward side. It was slow work, but it was important, and despite her impatience, she looked ahead to future visits that this creation of hers would provide. It would make the trip faster at least, and so despite how much she wanted to just zip up the side like a spider, she focused on her ladder and climbed steadily higher.

It was only when she'd reached the top, when the cold started to seep past her bark and make the joints a bit stiff that she spotted him settled a little ways into a barren field. There were pines, but they didn't speak like the ones back home. A layer of white, cleaner and brighter than she'd seen before covered their bristles. The edge she pulled herself up and over was baren except for the vines she'd created, and while normally that would raise alarm, she only had one thing on her mind.

Her hand reached down, scooping up a handful of snow as she inched forward. He wasn't paying her any attention, settled on a rock as if he'd been waiting; head down, eyes closed in sleep. Her grin stretched wide as she came in close and raised her hand high. She shoved the frozen slush down his shirt, and he screamed.

She was too busy to watch him jump—trying to siphon the snow out of his clothes and onto the ground—her body buckled over her arms as she tried to stay upright in her laughter. "I thought-" she cut herself off with a wheeze, hand intensely cold where it held onto her elbow. "I thought you said you couldn't- hahahahaha, gods- that you couldn’t feel- feel the cold!! Hahaha!"

“I said I couldn’t _d_ _ie_ from the cold!” Neros cried in the most undignified manner Anthea had ever seen him. He was cross with her, she could tell from the way his eyes shone with indignation—but this only made her laugh harder until she couldn’t keep upright, and fell backward into the snow.

She lay there, content in the atmosphere before there was a sharp, sting, and she shot up and away from the intense cold along her back. It hadn’t been all that bad a moment ago, but that almost hurt. Maybe she _would_ put the jacket on. Just to humor the willows, of course.

“Anthy?” Neros asked her, no longer dealing with the effects of her snow attack, and looking at her with curiosity, and perhaps a bit of worry. Well, more than a bit, but at least this was par for the course with her northern friend. Geez, what was it with everyone and worrying about her? She was fine!

“Well what do you expect?” she asked, peering around the small clearing they had set as their meeting place. There were flowers here, amongst the snow—violets, and nemesias, and crocus, all in gentle shades of lavender. It surprised her to feel such vibrancy from them. “It’s not like I’ve ever felt snow before, so how am I _not_ supposed to freak out about it?”

“But I’ve made ice for you before, when I-”

“Yes! But it melted,” She stepped forward, inching her feet into the snow, feeling the distinct moment when the cold slipped past her bark and struck the phloem of her feet. She continued to move forward, until she was nestled carefully between the flowers, and reached out. They responded instantly, blossoming vines climbing up her legs to her knees, and filling her with a warmth that seeped all the way through to her heartwood. Giggling softly, she plucked a bit of vine and held it right so it would twine with her hair. Purple wasn’t a new color for her, but the blossoms back at home were rarely this pale.

“They look nice,” Neros smiled at her.

“But of course they do!” Anthea preened. She didn’t have a mirror, so she wasn’t quite sure of the placement, but she knew purples weren’t the worst colors she could wear. “All flowers look good on me, whether they’re in season or not!”

“That’s true,” Neros said, his face flushing with saturation immediately after. He licked his lips and launched into a new topic before Anthea could ask him if he knew it went all the way to his ears. “A-Anyway, the village is this way. I told Mother and Father that you’d be joining us; the castle can get a bit cold at night, but the room you’ll be staying in has a lot of windows, and the sun’s always kept it pretty warm.”

“Sounds great!” Anthea perked, forgetting all about Neros’ odd behavior in the wake of the excitement entering a new place brought her. She’d read all that her own library had on the topic of townships, but to be visiting one was another thing entirely. She had _so_ many questions about cows. “Well Neros, we’re not going to get anywhere just standing around in the snow; let’s get moving!”

For all of Neros’ descriptions, Vetur wasn’t a village so much as a tightly compacted city. On the outskirts sat a section of snowed in fields, empty and barren, populated only by fences and the occasional building. The further down the path they traveled, the more buildings they saw, and the more densely packed they became. There were so many people around—and animals, and shops—that she could barely keep her attention focused on one specific thing before it shifted off towards something else. It was warmer already due to the proximity of so many bodies, but they were all still bundled up way more than her own woven coat would offer. Some were even wearing furs; thick and cozy looking, like a bale of cotton freshly picked and bundled up for trade with the fields merchants. She almost wanted one just to have it, but she wasn’t quite sure what she would be able to do for the shopkeep in return. Or where she would keep it once she got home.

The castle itself wasn’t the iconic silhouette she’d seen in the few picture books she knew Neros to own, but it did evoke the same feeling. There were cones, and a spiral of buildings leading to a large one at the center, but they also trailed up the mountain so that what was probably some sort of great hall was actually the tallest building there. There was a gate around the keep that Neros approached without any trouble, getting a wave from some of the armored guards that sat along the top, resting with their weapons against the parapet.

“Good morning, your highness!” One called out, bringing the attention of two others on the opposite side of the open gate.

“Have a good walk?” Said the second, before the third pushed him a bit, smiling.

“Well of course he did! It’s not every day he comes home with someone so pretty, you know!”

Neros coughed a bit, tugging at the collar of his shirt like he did when he was nervous, and—yep, there it was. Anthea made sure to remember so she could tease him incessantly about it later.

“Good Morning, Dustin, Magni, Osborn!” He called up to them, shifting from the quiet dork she knew to a more mature looking thirteen-year-old. At least she thought he was thirteen. Arborians aged the same up until a point, then they just sort of... stayed. And he definitely looked thirteen, and he had parents, which was something she’d first experienced with some of the traders, so really maybe it was just the magic that made Veturians different. Maybe. She’d have to ask if she remembered. “This is my good friend Anthea, Princess of the Realm of Arborea! She will be with us for the evening, so please treat her with as much respect as you would me!”

“Oh of course your highness!” The left one—Magni?—called out, one of the others on the right falling all over his companion with whispers she couldn’t hear and chuckles she could only see.

“We would think of doing nothing less—Dustin, for frost sake, pull yourself together!”

Dustin, it seemed, was incapable of help, falling behind the parapet with loud guffaws of uncontrollable laughter.

“Is he alright?” Neros called up. Osborn was attempting to pull the fallen soldier up off the ground, but it was no use. She could hear only snippets through the laughter, could only pick out the words ‘iced’ and ‘father’. Magni was rolling his eyes so hard, Anthea thought they might pop out of his head.

“Do not worry about that old fool, highness,” Magni said. “Osborn has him. Please continue forward, we do not want to pull you from your day.”

“Very well,” Neros nodded. “As you wer—” he stopped before he could finish, and Anthea had to turn from the few steps she’d taken to see why he had stopped, only to nearly fall to pieces with laughter herself. Oh this was just gold, literal gold, how was she not supposed to tease him about this later?

He was blushing furiously, of course, but then, anyone who had frozen his own feet to the ground would. Anthea was just upset it had taken her so long to notice. This whole scenario was basically the highlight of her life. She couldn’t wait to tell Rosea.

But then, not every good thing was meant to last. Maybe it was because he was basically an icicle himself, but after a bit of frantic struggling the ice cracked, and Neros was free. although there was a sizable circle of crumbling ice spires left in his wake.

“Y-yes, well!” Neros’ voice was a little louder than what he would usually address her with—but then, she wouldn’t be able to hear him otherwise over her own laughter. “We should hurry, Mother and Father will want to greet you, I’m sure.”

“Can I tell them you froze yourself to the bridge?” she giggled.

“A-absolutely not!”

She totally planned to but didn’t say anything else, giggling as she followed Neros’ stiff movements as he moved them away from the gatehouse. The path to the castle’s inner building was long and winding, but she was used to wandering walks through the Arborian forest, so the trek itself wasn’t so bad. It did get colder the higher it got, but not so much that it was a problem. She was a bit sleepy but pushed through it. There was so much to explore, she couldn’t possibly go to sleep now!

The castle grounds were bigger than she’d thought they would be, almost as big as a home grove back in Arboria, but the living building itself was about as big as the nursery. Veturian architecture was so different when compared to Arborian, she couldn’t help but stare a little. Everything was cobbled together with red and brown rock, carved into precise rectangles that were then stacked in an altering pattern that created a distinct look. Even with all these square edges, the castle itself had high archeways, and long windows, covered in crystal sheets, and every other room had a fireplace burning, and several people running back and forth, performing different tasks she could only guess at.

She could have sworn the castle had looked blue, or white in the distance, but that could have been some kind of ice magic for all she knew. Like a protective coating of ice around the castle or something. She’d have to ask about it later.

Neros led her to the depths of the main building, waving to a couple if townspeople settled in one of the rooms with a fire going. There was a woman in blue passing out steaming cups to those closest to the fire, and while they were very cordial, she didn’t do much more than say a quiet hello, and nod in their general direction. She was a little preoccupied by the overwhelming warmth that hit her the second she’s stepped into the room.

“You know,” Neros murmured after a few hellos with the townspeople that he tugged her away from, and into an adjoining hall. “You wouldn’t be so cold if you wore a jacket. Or at least some pants.”

“Hey watch it, bud, I wasn’t raised a quitter,” she said, watching at how the light streaming in through the windows hit the pollen in the air. “Besides, I’m Arborian. The only cold that affects us is like... magic cold.”

“Really?” Neros kind of asked, his curiosity endearing in how genuine it was. “You know, with how magic works, I probably should have guessed that.”

“That’s ok,” she smiled, knocking his shoulder with hers. “I’ll be the smart one out of us, and you can be the pretty one.”

“Haha, I dunno, you might have me beat at that one,” he knocked back, not as roughly as she would, but in a manner suited for him. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, one eyebrow climbing her forehead, despite the fact that he was clearly not looking at her on purpose.

“Oh yeah?” Anthea said, knocking him harder than before, nearly making him fall to the floor, though he managed to right himself. “Says who?” He stared a moment, before a grin to match her own broke out on his face. He straightened up his tunic, brushing off invisible pollen before knocking into her with as much force as he could muster.

She held her balance, planting her feet to the ground. If it had been earth beneath her feet, she wouldn’t have budged.

“Why Rosea, of course,” Neros shot back, and Anthea laughed aloud at that.

“No fair, that’s cheating!” she straightened her posture, now that Neros seemed content with her answer. “Rosea is biased, and you know it.”

Neros smiled but didn’t deny it. Instead, he turned to the guards, both of which were at the end of the hallway they had traveled, and both who stood tall and saluted as Neros approached.

“At ease,” Neros said, and their saluting arms shot back to their sides. He paid them no mind after that, pushing the door open, and peeking inside. “It looks like they’re talking with Edward and Silas,” he said softly. “They harvest wool for winter coats and export it to other cold places around Endra. They’re nice people, so even if they’re only now gaining an audience, this shouldn’t take long,” he turned to glance at her and had to cover a laugh when he caught her waving a hand in front of one of the guards’ faces. “I’ll go announce us.”

In the four minutes it took Neros to announce them and return to retrieve her Anthea had tried everything from poking this guy in the side to removing his ridiculous hat and making even more ridiculous faces while wearing it. She couldn’t get the guy to move and was slowly working a vine up his leg from some cracks in the stone flooring when Neros discovered her, murmuring the vines into life in the cold air. It was harder than she’d expected, and she hadn’t realized her face was about two inches from the guard’s knee until the door opened, and she heard a laugh.

"Good luck with that one, lass.” called one of the two men who had left the audience chamber. This one had a thick mustache, and eyes full of mischief. “Those two don’t move an inch ‘lest there be danger about!”

“Oh come off it, Ed,” said the second man, this one younger, but of similar bulk. “We got sheep to tend, an’ I ain’t waiting ‘round for you to chat up the whole castle.” he turned to Anthea and bowed his head with a polite “Ma’am.” before turning to his companion and pushing him down the hall. Ed waved goodbye at her as Neros slipped through the door, and motioned for her to follow him.

“Don’t worry,” he says, and Anthea _knows_ he’s saying it more for himself because she’s not worried in the slightest. “Mother will love you, and Father—Father may be stern, but he’s a good man!”

“Psh, who’s worried?” She said, all smiles. “If I can talk my way around the Elders, I can take your parents no problem.” Neros smiled at her, but his fingers were fidgety, and that usually meant that he was nervous about something. He wasn't this nervous about a lot, so she took notice when he was—like the first time she took him to the top of the Great Silva Tree; man, had his face been gold when he saw how high up they were!

The King and Queen were taller than her, but by no means were they the tallest people she knew. Most Arborians grew to monumental heights in comparison. A lot of people would probably say Neros’ dad looked the most like him, but Anthea would argue with them until the end of time. Yeah sure they both had white hair, and they sort of moved the same, but Neros’ mother had long locks that trailed down her back in loose, intricate twists the shade of hickory rings that fluffed up around her head and eyes. That volume in and of itself was something she had always attributed to Neros—and now that she knew what the stuff looked like, she could confidently compare his hair to snow. It didn’t help that they had the same eyes either.

“Mother, Father,” Neros started, motioning towards Anthea as he did so. “This is Princess Anthea of the Realm of Arborea. Anthea, this my mother and father; King Vasilias, and Queen Heilsa.”

“Nice to meet you!” she smiled, curtsying the way Neros had shown her ages ago when he’d first come to Arborea, all bright-eyed and curious. She had sat him down with Rosea, and they had all three talked about the first thing that came to their minds—one of which had been greetings, and etiquette, and all sorts of other small, odd things. Rosea had told her how important it was to make a good impression, and while she might not do this all the time, it was probably important that she do it at least once.

“Welcome to our kingdom, young Princess.” The King bowed his head in greeting, and she got the feeling that he would get along well with Derwen. He had the same kindness to his eyes, but she could tell from the way he talked that he wasn’t the type to put up with utter nonsense.

“Make yourself at home.” the Queen followed up with a curtsey of her own, taking the edge of her long skirt in her hand as she did so. It sparkled a bit in the light, and Anthea wondered if ice was woven into the fibers. Could ice do that? Another question for Neros to answer. “Neros has told us a lot about you—” Anthea glanced at Neros, and he was doing it again; the frosted cheeks, the fidgeting. ”—and the forest from which you have come. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your stay here more comfortable.”

After introductions had taken place, Neros was given leave to show her around the castle. The building where she thought they lived, the one made of precisely stacked stones, was actually not where they lived at all. “We receive the townspeople here.” Neros explained as they walked about. “My parents and I aren’t bothered by the cold as much, but they can die from it very easily, so we make sure there are always fires going, and warm food and drink to keep them from frostbite.”

“What’s that?” Anthea asked as they walked, passing rooms for maids and guests, and one large one filled with all sorts of books and scrolls before slipping out the back towards the blue-white spires she remembered. They were tall, but didn’t appear so unless you saw them up close, lined up in a spiral around the hill and protecting it from... well, she assumed the wind. There was just so much of it this far up, after all.

“It when the skin gets too cold and starts to freeze.” He looked a bit somber but didn’t stop his trek out onto the snowed incline. “My mother said it can kill the townspeople if we don’t treat it properly and promptly. She saw a lot of people die from it when she was young, and... she wouldn’t go into detail, says I’m too young for that kind of horror, but I want to help as much as I can. I’m the Prince, you know?” He got a determined look on his face, and it made him look older, more dependable. Confidence looked nice, glimmering in his eyes like that. “Vetur and its people will one day rely on me to make a lot of decisions, and I need to make sure I can live up to their expectations.”

“Well, if old man you is anything like current you, then I think you’ll do fine,” she said, twining her fingers behind her neck. She looked down at her toes in the snow, focusing on the cold they felt. She couldn’t feel her feet like she normally could, but the sharp sting from earlier in the fields wasn’t hitting her either. It was kind of a funny stiffness, but one that ultimately meant good things to come. She knew the cold wouldn’t bother her, and yeah she had to get used to it, but that wasn’t an issue at all! She’d have to tease Rosea about all that worry of hers when she got back because this was great, and Anthea was definitely going to drag her up with her the next time she came.

She stopped her thoughts when something landed on her nose. She crossed her eyes in an attempt to look at it before another landed on her elbow. She only saw the movement in her periphery, but it was there, and when she focused on it, she noticed that there were more; little white specks floating all around her. She did an entire 360, catching them in mid-fall before she looked up at the sky, and saw the clouds they were slowly descending from.

“Hey Neros, are you seeing this?” She doubted he couldn’t, but it was kind of pretty and mesmerizing, and she wanted him to tell her if this was normal, or ice magic, or nothing like that at all. Except that she didn’t receive an answer, and when she looked to her side to see why he hadn’t responded, she couldn’t find him. “Neros? Where’d—”

It wasn’t that he’d disappeared, but that he’d stopped walking about five steps behind her. He was standing in eased mid-motion like he’d been caught unaware and had relaxed into acceptance. He was looking at her, but it was distant—like he was seeing her, but not in the same plane of reality. He looked almost mesmerized, and there was a slight quirk to his... well, not his lips, but it looked like there might be, any moment now. She could see him turning it into a smile, but he hadn’t yet.

She waved, and he didn’t respond. So, naturally, she shook the magic flakes from her hair, stormed over and snapped in his face, making him jerk back to awareness.

“An-Anthy, what—?” He tried to back up a bit, which made sense with how close she had to get to his face to make him respond.

“I could ask the same of you!” She said, placing her hands on her hips before gesturing to the sky with one of them. “There’s this magic sky stuff, and you’re just staring into nothing for like, four and a half minutes! You’re lucky I was here to snap you out of it, or else you’d probably get buried in the stuff! That’s probably what it wants, honestly.”

“Magic sky—” he looked up. “You mean the snow? Anthy, it’s not magic or anything, it’s just frozen rain.”

“So then what were you staring at, then?” She asked, and he went to shake his head before a wild look of panic overcame him, and his face nearly turned into a blueberry.

“You-you know, maybe it _was_ um, magic!” he nodded, scratching the back of his neck, refusing to look at her, despite Anthea moving in front of him so he would look at her. They kept shifting to different directions, and while it was incredibly annoying; though she could guess why he would be embarrassed. If she’d been caught under the thrall of some form of magic she was well versed in, she’d be pretty embarrassed herself. Well, maybe. That wouldn’t happen in a million years, but she could see why she _could_ be embarrassed by something like that. “I’ll ask mother about it later, she might- might know something.”

“Good,” She nodded, before taking him by the arm and dragging him towards the spiral. “Now take me to the highest point you’ve got, I want to see if you can see Arboria from here, and also you should point out all the cool places we’re going to go to while I’m here.”

Turns out she couldn’t see her home from here, but that wasn’t from lack of height, or it being too far away. Neros pointed out the dark clouds off to the south and told her how he could tell they were rain clouds by their shape and color. He then pointed out a few other places, like which spire his parents lived in and which was his room, Some were made entirely out of ice magic, he told her, whereas some had stone foundations. “The castle’s been here far longer than we have,” he told her as he looked out across the horizon. The magic snow on his clothes was easy to see, but the flakes disappeared into his hair completely. “Father thinks the building’s foundations may have been here since before the prophecy, but that’s mostly from old legends. I really want to look into it, but it’s still hard to read some of the older books.”

“We’ll make it a joint effort then!” She smiled. He looked a bit surprised at that before it drained away and he smiled at her instead.

“I didn’t think you’d have time to learn about Vetur with how much Arborean history there still is to read...”

“I mean, I guess, but with Vetur and Arboria being so close, they’ve got to have some shared history. Oh, maybe your library even has some Arboran scrolls! I can read those for sure, and if that’s the case, then there must be tons of stuff about Veturn in the library back at home too! Point is, you’ll never know until you try!”

“Don’t you mean _we’ll_ never know until _we_ try?”

“I mean, obviously I’m going to do this anyway, you’re the one who needs convincing here.”

He laughed at that, and turned back to the skyline, pointing out the horizon. They talked for hours about what they thought lied beyond it.

After that, Neros had shown her the different chambers he went to often, like the library at the base of his tower, and the training halls lined with all kinds of weapons. He’d tried to show her a move his father was trying to teach him, only to lose his balance and fall backward. Not long after she recovered from her giggle fit, a bell rang out across the fields, and she watched as the hustle and bustle of the townspeople shifted their activity.

“The sun will be setting shortly,” Neros explained to her. “It gets a lot colder once the sun sets, so now is when most people pack up for the night. We should probably head to the dining hall. I’m sure supper will be soon.”

Supper, it turned out, was more a family affair than a communal one; though with the emphasis placed on close bond relationships, it made more sense than not. They had all sorts of foods placed out—ranging from broths to meats, steamed vegetables and breads—and while all of it looked delicious, she only took a little of each. “Most of our food energy comes from the sun,” she explained, taking one of the cooked vegetables and eating it slowly. She could absorb it back into her, it wasn’t anything new—but by non-Arborean standards, she probably didn’t eat enough to sustain herself.

“Hm,” Vasilias seemed a bit troubled by this, sharing a look with Heilsa. “I hadn’t thought eating would have been so different.”

“Is there anything we can do to provide for you in a similar manner?” The Queen asked, and Anthea smiled at her.

“This is just fine,” She said, reassuring her and also Neros who looked like he was probably thinking something terrible—like he’d let her down or something. He’d never stayed in Arborea for more than a few hours, so how could she expect him to know this? Honestly, Neros. “I can kind of eat like this if it’s a little bit, but it takes a while to absorb. The warmth is nice though, so I can still enjoy it!” This seemed to calm the royal family down enough, but she made sure to change the subject, just in case. The King and Queen seemed very interested in the report she had to give them on the magical sky flakes, and made sure that Neros knew to tell them about it, should something like this happen again in the future. She wasn’t sure why he was so squeaky when replying, but it was funny, and everyone was smiling again more or less, so that’s what counted.

The rest of the evening was spent in the library before Heilsa informed them both of the late hour and sent them off to bed. They bid each other goodnight through large yawns, and while she didn’t want the fun to end, she was really starting to feel worn out. A good night’s sleep would do absolute wonders, for sure. She watched as Vasilius ushered Neros upstairs into his tower before Heilsa led her to the main stone building from before. The room was of moderate size, with a big window facing the east, and a warm fire going in the fireplace. There was a big bed, with lots of soft-looking blankets and pillows, and a rug placed out to keep most of the floor covering. A small desk resided to one side, where a candle waited to be lit if needed.

“These will be your rooms for the night.” The queen said, her voice soft and comforting. “Is there anything we’ve neglected to provide? We’ve never hosted an Arborian before now, and I fear we have already found ourselves to be poor hosts.”

Anthea shook her head at the question. “Nah, you did fine. I’ve never slept in a bed before, we usually use like, hammocks? But it looks soft, and I’m here to try new things, so I think it’ll do just fine!” The queen looked pleased and nodded in return, before handing her a small bell. “This will summon one of the maids that work in this building. Call them if you need anything.”

“Kay.” she took the bell with a yawn, waving to the queen as she was left to her own devices. It was kind of weird how much she was yawning—she rarely ever did unless she was low on energy or hungry—but she’d already eaten most of her seeds, and she’d been doing a lot of moving and exploring, so she was probably just tired. She counted them out in her hands, one two three... and then the others with the material inside instead of snacks. She popped all three snacks into her mouth and swallowed them down to be absorbed with the rest of the organic material she’d taken in today. She’d get a little sleep in, and feel right as rain in the morning.

She knew the bed was where she should go, but the fire felt really nice on her bark. She found herself settling down on the edge of the rug, feeling the warmth of the fire radiating a small distance away, her hand searching the cracks of the stone for moss, lichen... and pulling a small, purple flower from the ground beneath. It took a lot more out of her than it should, but it made her smile, and the flower’s soft voice—while a bit worried—was soothing.

“Don’t worry, little seedling,” She murmured through a yawn, her eyes closing without any fight from her. “The sun will be up before you know it.” and with that she fell into a deep slumber, unaware of her fingers at the base of the stem, and the vines that were slowly cracking the cobbles apart.

\- - - - - - - - - -

“... ... sure s... ...ight?”

“Peace, ......., all …. .. well.”

When she next awoke, it wasn’t to the sun, or even to Rosea coming to pull her from her sleep like she sometimes did; but to Derwen’s gentle voice, calming Neros of all people. She figured she must be dreaming, she wasn’t even sure if the two had ever spoken to each other—but then her mind came into focus, and she recognised the surefire feeling of sunlight coursing through her veins, warming her from the inside out. Her fingers, her toes, everything was pulsating with the intensity, and she almost felt suffocated by it.

“Ngh,” she grunted, pushing the blanket from her face only for her hand to be moved back inside her cocoon, and for the blanket to be tucked back around her.

“See? She’s resisting.” The old oak pointed out. “She’ll be right as rain soon enough.”

“What’r you even talkin’bout,” She murmured, blinking her eyes open. Everything was a blur of greens and violets, and one shock of blue that gasped and pushed some of her hair aside.

“Anthy!” Neros cried, and since her hands weren’t allowed to move, she sort of blinked her way back into focus. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept half the night and had been worrying for the rest of it. “Are you okay? Are you warm enough? Gods, I was so worried, I shook your shoulder and you wouldn’t wake up—!”

She blew hard at his face to get him to be quiet a moment. “Neros,” she said, making sure he was indeed paying attention and not about to go back into a ramble. “Wha’s goin’on.” Her words weren’t working right, and her head felt a bit crunchy too—like she hadn’t gotten enough nutrients, and her hair was suffering for it. “An’why’s Derwen here? Can’t climb, he’s old t’know how’t climb rocks.”

Neros was silent, before sniffling a little, and wiping his eyes before tears could form. This would have sent her into a state of alarm if there wasn’t a familiar clearing of the throat, and her eyes were overtaken with the instinctual need to roll.

“Anthea.” he started out, and the voice he used was the one she heard the most when she exasperated him, but hadn’t done anything provably wrong, _per se_. “I’m going to say this as plainly as possible, so pay attention: Your body became too cold, and was starting to pass into dormancy. A honeywort bloom you’d touched panicked, and tried to get you as close to the sun as possible,” Uh-oh, that didn’t sound good. Craning her neck a bit, she looked around and realized she was in a different room altogether. The glass had a bluish sheen to it, and the sun passing through onto her face felt particularly warm. Looking through the glass, she could see a large pile of rubble being picked through and cobbled back together by a mix-matched bundle of Veturians. A vision that shattered once she saw one of them shoot a vine forward, and she realized some of them were just really bundled up Arborians. She could see some pines that were less covered and more mobile, but those bundles up looked like elm? Maple, maybe? The wood was hard to tell from this far away, and the leaves only said so much.

Dormancy wasn’t... that wasn’t when you went to sleep forever, right? She couldn’t... she knew this one, she did! But her head was foggy, and kind of listless, and she didn’t really feel like herself at the moment; almost as if she were floating inside her body, but only just barely.

“I... ” she started, looking between the scene, Neros furiously rubbing at his eyes and Derwen’s unsurprised expression. Well, if he wasn’t worried, then it probably wasn’t _forever_ sleep, but it was unnatural enough for him to come all the way up here. “... caused a lotta damage, huh... ”

“It’s—”

“You did,” Derwen cut Neros off, making her friend shrink a bit. She frowned at that, but the old oak continued, and she wasn't sure she could actually respond right now as snappy as she would have wanted, so she stayed quiet. “There was a lot of collateral, but no one was severely hurt and the repairs have all been sorted out.” The relief was a physical weight off of her chest, and the breath she took was proof enough that it had been there in the first place. “I’ve spoken with the King and Queen on this matter, and we both agree that once you’ve returned to Arboria, you should not return to Vetur.”

“What?!” She nearly flung herself out of the covers but the second she hit the air, that sting from the first snow hit her all over and she collapsed with a whimper. Gods, it was just the cold why was it affecting her so much?! Neros was quick to cover her up, and while he didn’t look all too happy at the news either, his expression seemed more guilty and resigned. She really didn’t like him looking like that. Anthea resolved to show him she was okay soon.

“Anthy, please,” Neros murmured, tucking her in as a plan formed in her head. Like hell was she gonna let one setback ruin all this. “Don’t move too much, you’re still recovering.” She huffed, but settled down as per his request, and turned her fury on Derwen.

Technically, there wasn’t anything he could do to stop her. Technically, he had to listen to everything she said. That, however, didn’t mean he couldn’t place restrictions on all Arborians. He was an influential oak, he dealt with the plains people more than anyone, so if he said it was dangerous, then all of Arboria would listen to him. He couldn’t talk to Silva, which was her only leg up in this conversation. If she said Silva wishes for the connection between Vetur and Arboria to flourish, then he would _have_ to listen to her.

She opened her mouth to say something to that effect, but... stopped. Abusing her power like that would be... well, it wouldn’t be good. And Derwen, for all his abrasiveness, was adept in reading others. He would know she’d lied in a heartbeat. And from there, everything would spiral.

Instead, she funneled her anger into something else. There must be something she could do to keep this working. “So?” She didn’t ask so much as demand, which was about as cordial as she was going to get, so riled up with emotions. She really wanted to sit up so she could be at least a little more imposing.

Derwen sighed, rolling his eyes at her like she did so many times at him. Good, if he thought she was just being defiant, it would be easier for her to word this in her favor. “Vetur simply is not equipped to handle an Arborian of deciduous persuasion,” he told her, all facts and dammit, he was right, but how could they fix it? It was just the cold, right? “The lack of sunlight due to the ample cloud coverage doesn’t encourage the photosynthesis necessary.”

“Sunlight is ample in Arboria,” She countered, her mind clearer as she raced for possibilities. “We could fill seeds with it—not just snacks, but full meals. We don’t need them unless there’s a lot of sick needing tending at night, and that rarely happens!”

“And when it does?”

“King Vasilius and Queen Heilsa are kind people, who worried about not offering me enough because they didn’t know I eat differently than them. I doubt they’d fault us for not being able to visit because a lot of saplings were sick.”

“Regardless, there is still the issue of the cold. Any coverings we create would not be enough to retain the warmth our bark needs to keep from cracking.”

“Oh come on, old man, cracked bark?” Sher sits up, indignant and unwilling to let him throw feeble excuses her way. Neros gasped a bit, but she was too preoccupied to do anything but take note, and promise in her head to get back in the covers as soon as she had won. “We grow new stuff each year, that’s hardly a problem!”

“It is when those cracks are ignored and turned into fissures.” He poked on her forearm and it stung. Alright, so maybe she _does_ have a fissure, but it’s not terrible. Still, she understands what he means. If left in this environment, it could have opened up all the way to her heartwood, and if that got damaged... 

A determination stronger than anything reaches her. She looks up, matches eyes with Neros, at the frost trails she can see on his face. Instead of feeling guilt for worrying him, she looks at the building outside being rebuilt by both Veturian and Arborian hands alike. Or rather, she looks at the glass, at its blue tint, and realizes its ice. It should be cold in here, and yet... 

She has an idea.

“Coats,” she says, sudden and after a long period of silence. It visibly stuns Neros, and she doesn’t take the time to see how Derwen’s affected. “There are craftsmen here who make them, they use the hair from the sheep they raise. They would be useful as an immediate barrier against the cold. I’ve seen them, personally, their shoes are even lined with the stuff, which would keep our feet from suffering. Vetur has clothes for every part of the body that needs to be kept from the elements to ward of frostbite.”

Neros’ eyes light up a bit, less upset and more curious, but altogether still lost. Coats and warm clothing would help, but it wouldn’t be enough. But she could at least secure that visits and coexistence were possible. “If we can’t get the stuff here, for whatever reason, we can get them from the plains folk. They have just about everything. And this,” She points to the window, at the sheen, at its blue color. “I’ve noticed something about this glass stuff. First, it lets in sunlight, so if we could get a room with just—I dunno, a huge window, then there will be a lot of available sunlight, which cuts down on the amount of seeds we’d need to bring. But besides that, it’s not very cold unless you get like, right next to the glass. It’s pretty warm in here without any fire at all.”

“Um,” Neros’ soft voice called all attention to him, both Anthea’s and Derwen’s, the latter of which looked like he wasn’t nearly as curious as Anthea to see what he had to add to the conversation. “That’s ice, actually, but—but it’s because once the light energy passes through, it turns into heat and can’t escape back outside. I read it in a book about gardening, and how sometimes glass can help keep plants warm during winter.”

“See!” Anthea crowed, “There’re books on this kinda thing, and I’m sure we have some scrolls somewhere that can help!”

“The point remains, that this stunt of yours cannot happen again.” Derwen crossed his arms, but Anthea didn’t argue; just smiled and shook her head. “Maybe not now, but with both Veturians and Arborians working together on a solution, then this will be a thing of the past! Still, keeping Arborians safe is an issue.” she nodded, crossing her arms as well. “So I propose setting a couple of Arborians who can handle this kind of weather on the task. It will take some time, most of this will be day trips, and any Veturians willing to help with this project will have to visit Arboria pretty often until we can get something working.”

“Hm,” Dewen was silent after that; looking her over, checking her confidence, and Anthea made sure it shone. If she didn’t believe 100% that her plan would work, then he wouldn’t be able to even get close to 10. It felt like a long time, and she could feel her aggravated forearm sending angry reminders that her cambium layer needed to be covered back up, but she persisted. Backing down wasn’t something she was capable of.

“And who would you nominate for this... project of yours?”

“Redwood and Sitka. I’m pretty sure I see them out there with little on, so they seem more capable of longer time periods up in this cold. Once we have an idea of what to do, MacIntosh should be brought in to check over, and see if the conifers missed anything vital in their planning. Once my arm is healed, I will also join in researching, and seeing what can be done to make this a beneficial change for both parties.”

“And if the Veturians do not wish to help?”

“We will!”

Neros’ words cut into their conversation again, but this time, he looked more determined than ever. “This is a beneficial relationship for Arboria and Vetur, and I will work tirelessly to make sure others know of its importance. I already know of a few people who might be willing to help as well, and the farmers would likely have valuable input.”

Dewen looked between the two of them, calculating, and Anthea—ecstatic as she was that Neros had jumped on board—was a bit worried. Derwen was stubborn, and he hadn’t folded yet. If he didn’t soon, she’d need to find something to persuade him, quick.

“Also, if you back this, I promise not to do anything knowingly reckless for an entire season.”

“Two cycles.” he shot back. Ahh, so _this_ was what he was waiting for.

“Two seasons.”

“The next two seasons, including the remainder of this one, and Rosea has to chaperone you for anything that toes the line of knowingly and unknowingly.”

“Deal!”

She took Derwen’s hand, they shook on it, and he stood. “Now that _that_ has been settled, I suppose I have preparations to make.” he bowed to Neros, who had yet to move from his seat. “Your Highness.”

“Oh, and add Junipa and Cyress to the committee as well! And Cottonwood should talk with MacIntosh about stuff!”

“I’ll see if they're available,” Derwen called out over his shoulder as he left and Anthea, free of anyone she had to impress, collapsed into her bed in a fit of giggles. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“I can,” Neros smiled, scooting his chair closer and wrapping her up in blankets, the worrywart. She struggled a bit, but gave in eventually and stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed in return. “Your ability to persuade is better than anyone else, and your points were all sound.”

“Well of course they were. I’m the smart one, remember?” They both laughed at that, their words falling into an easy chatter as they talked about their newest project; about what they thought could be done, and about how some of the pines and one elm had broken out into a snowball fight.

She wasn’t sure if Neros knew or not that he’d been holding onto her hand this entire time, but she didn’t call attention to it. His fingers were unusually warm against hers, and he’d been embarrassed enough throughout this whole venture, it was just a kindness at this point. She ignored the voice that said this would all have to end sooner than later, and paid more attention to the one that said they would definitely do this again, and soon.

\- - - - - - - - - -

“Was it necessary to be so harsh, Derwen? They’re just children after all.”

“It was never about severity, so much as control.”

“Control?” A pause, “I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand.”

“Anthea is of sharp mind and tongue, Your Grace. I knew she was going to argue with me regardless of what I set before her. At least by setting unreasonable extremes, I can get her to think a bit before rushing headlong into things. She’s far more likely to follow terms she herself has set, then listen to anything I have to say to her.”

“I see,” a warm-hearted laugh. “She’ll be difficult for you to handle when she comes of age.”

A groan. “She doesn’t have to come of age to be difficult.” A sigh, and a laugh. But not much else, before talking renewed. There was much to speak on before they parted ways, and not very much time to do so.


End file.
